It's a little hotter today than the previous two days.

It's already completely summery.

The sun shines unobstructed on the earth, and the concrete roads are white and even dazzling. Looking a little farther away, the houses, the trees, and the qiē close to the ground all seemed to become distorted.

The ice bucket around him turned into warm water in just half an hour. Shen Kuo, who was exhausted, drank two sips of cold soup chilled with well water, and threw himself on the recliner, not wanting to leave the covered station platform at all.

The 30,000 soldiers and horses of the Beijing battalion out of the town and Hebei, the last two commanders also got into the car just now. And the first two conductors to set off should have arrived at their destination at this time.

Thirty thousand soldiers and horses were transported in seven days, which was enough to make all the participants proud.

This is not only 30,000 soldiers, but also a series of equipment and military materials including war horses and artillery.

If it's only 30,000 people, with a little effort, you can get on the bus and send it away in one day. But with all kinds of equipment, plus all kinds of sudden accidents and accidents, it took seven days.

Just now, when loading the accompanying field guns, a rope was not tied properly, and the falling frame injured a stevedore at the station, and he was taken to the hospital. In the past seven days, due to various accidents, the number of injuries among the Tokyo Station workers has reached double digits. From stepping on a falling buckshot and slipping and breaking a leg, to being pushed off the platform by a timid soldier, all kinds of accidents are unusual, and being injured by cargo is very ordinary.

In the past few exercises, the troops sent out were transported by rail, but not once was there such a mess as this time. This kind of tension in the face of war cannot be simulated by any exercise or training.

Fortunately, the government affairs hall had long expected such a situation, so it asked Shen Kuo, the actual person in charge of railway-related affairs, to come here to preside over it in person. Fortunately, Shen Kuo's ability and knowledge of all the affairs on the railway were able to ensure that the chaos did not end there, and that the daily operation of Tokyo Station was not greatly affected.

After seven days of busyness, although the work to clean up the mess was still piled up, Shen Kuo only felt like a sugar cane that had been squeezed dry in a sugar factory, and like charcoal that had been burned out in the hearth, and he didn't even want to move a finger anymore.

It's just that prostration is prostration, and after completing this arduous task, looking at the station that is still messy but no longer has artillery, soldiers and horses, a sense of satisfaction arises spontaneously, which makes Shen Kuo proud of himself. Someone else would never be able to do that.

"I wonder when I'll be there?"

The voice of the staff came from the side, and Shen Kuo opened his eyes, "It will take more time to cross the river tomorrow morning, it will be fast to cross the river, you can get to Xiangzhou before the evening, and you will arrive at Zhending Mansion in two days, uh, those who set off today are all going to the Daimyo's Mansion, and they will arrive the day after tomorrow." ”

A few decades ago, when there were no railways. In half a month, at most, the soldiers and horses in Kaifeng Prefecture can be mobilized to the Yellow River, and if you want to gather the elites in the Gyeonggi area and send them to Hebei, it will take another month - this is still fast.

Five hundred in three days, one thousand in six days, it is already a legendary speed in the history books, it is not equipped with a large number of war horses, and at the same time it is willing to pay the health and even lives of these war horses, it is absolutely impossible to do this. But now, you can travel thousands of miles in three days.

"In the past, I traveled with my classmates in Hebei Province, from Tokyo to Daimyo, and walked for a month."

"That's because you've been delaying too long." Shen Kuo said with a smile, I have heard similar words a lot over the years, but this time the object of comparison is a joke.

Scholars travel to study the world, and everywhere they go, they always go to the local government, celebrities, and wealthy families to fight the autumn breeze, eat and drink a little, take a little, and the time of two or three days will pass. On the road from Kaifeng, Tokyo to Daimyo, there are many people, and the autumn wind continues.

"Even if you don't delay, it's not as good as now. Without the many years of hard work of the privy council, how could we have the convenience we have today? ”

Shen Kuo's smile faded, "The prime minister is tired." I'm just laboring. ”

"With the work of privy counsel, why not worry about it?"

"It's better to get the things in front of you right first."

Shen Kuo was even more indifferent. He is four years older than Zhang Tun, even if Han Gang keeps his promise and withdraws from Dongfu, he will never be the successor prime minister, and Huang Shang's chances are a little higher.

The staff observed the words, and hurriedly changed the words, "This matter on the railway is indeed inseparable from the privy council. ”

Scratching the itch, Shen Kuo was a little proud, "If I entrust the railway to it, I don't know who can catch it?" ”

Just like Xue Xiang, the Sixth Route Transfer Division was immediately abolished, worse than when Xue Xiang had not taken over, and finally had to build another railway, and now the imperial court has less and less investment in the Bianhe, and several armies that repair the river and protect the river are all transferred to the railway, and in a few years, the Bianhe River, which allows the Beijing division to be full of food and worry-free, will be completely abolished.

And the railway, if he hadn't worked hard for ten years, where would there be the main road that now connects the east, west, north and south of the Great Song Dynasty, thousands of miles long? Without his Shen Kuo's presiding, how could thousands of miles of railways run in an orderly and chaotic manner - this is tens of millions of people a year, tens of millions of stones, and how can it be compared to the water transportation of the Bianhe River?

If you talk about talent, Xue Xiang can't compare, if you talk about merit, among the two mansions, there are two or three people who can compare, if you talk about authority, tens of thousands of troops, 100,000 horses, 200,000 people, millions of money, all in his hands, although the court sent people to supervise, but the power is still in his hands.

It's a pity that he can't be the prime minister.

Shen Kuo knows this very well, whether it is age or credit, it is a hurdle that cannot be bypassed.

A few words with the staff reminded Shen Kuo of what he had hidden for a long time. The heat wave outside his body subsided for a while, but the fire in his heart rose again.

Why can't you be the prime minister?

The chest is like a fire, and the hatred is like venom, eroding the whole body.

If Han Gang is willing to support, he will definitely be able to serve as prime minister.

Just as soon as he thought of Han Gang, that familiar smile floated in front of him. Easy to approach, sincere and reliable.,It's a ruthless character for the enemy.。

As if a basin of ice water was poured on his head, Shen Kuo suddenly woke up, and a chill swept through his body, if he really wanted to break with Han Gang, he would not be able to gain a foothold in the court at all.

He glanced up at the staff suspiciously, and then stood up with the handrail as if nothing happened, "I can't delay any longer, go back early to recover, and go home early to rest." ”

It's just that in my heart, I have written down today's events.

'You have to check it out. He thought.

Half an hour later, Shen Kuo arrived at Han Gang's home.

Han Gang received the privy deputy envoy who had returned to his life in the study.

Looking at Shen Kuo, who had lost a few points, Han Gang said: "In the past few days, it has been hard to save the middle. ”

Shen Kuo changed to a relaxed and intimate tone, and said with a smile: "If the prime minister knows that I am hard, I will send someone else to preside over it in the future." ”

"Where else can I find someone else to replace me?"

Han Gang also felt helpless.

With the development of industry, the specialization of all walks of life is getting higher and higher, and laymen come in, scratching their heads or trivial things, and they are more afraid that they don't know how to pretend to understand, and make a mess of things, and they must use professionals to manage.

With the current railway system, even if Han Gang goes out on his own, he is not as good as Shen Kuo, who has been in charge of railway affairs all year round. And Fang Xing, who was assigned to Shen Kuo as his deputy, was a step less capable, and his background and status were not enough to replace him. One can only hope that in a few years, someone will be able to stand out.

"The world is so big, such as the volume of the car, you can't afford to say it."

After a few rounds of praise and modesty, I finally got back to business.

"This is the first time that we have transported troops and horses on a large scale and over long distances in the face of war, which is also a rare experience. I don't know what you think in the past few days? ”

Han Gang's question is exactly what Shen Kuo has been thinking about in the past few days: "With the situation of the railway, it can actually be completed earlier, or more soldiers and horses can be transported." It's just that the people are not proficient, and the top and bottom of Tokyo Station have not been able to do their best, and there are too many accidents and accidents...... Second, there is the problem of clocks. ”

"Standard time?"

"It's the standard time that Xiang Gong said the last time."

Railways are all about time. The more accurate the time, the shorter the departure gap can be, and the corresponding increase in capacity.

So even without Han Gang's reminder, both Su Song and Shen Kuo felt the need to develop more accurate clocks to cope with the ever-expanding railway schedule.

To open up the Western Regions, the main body of the Central Plains must at least have a unified and accurate time, otherwise it will not be possible to run a large-scale road map at all. The larger the road network, the greater the chaos.

Now there is a grandfather clock, in which the error of a good product will not exceed five minutes a day, but over time, the error will become larger and larger.

Therefore, the grandfather clocks sold all over the country are based on the local sundial as the standard time, usually at 12 o'clock at noon, and the time is checked.

The standard time for the tens of thousands of table clocks in Tokyo is the sundial from the Qintianjian, which is then signaled by a cannon near the sundial.

"When you have a standard, you have to have an accurate time. The more accurate the time, the more stable and safe the railway will be. ”

Han Gang nodded, this can be regarded as insightful, but in the imperial court, there are actually only about a dozen people who can clearly realize this, and Shen Kuo is one of them.

"But the issue of time zone is just as important." Shen Kuo's words changed, "When the sun rises in Laizhou, it is still dark in Kaifeng, Chang'an has only handed over the fourth watch, and Dihua in the Western Regions is even the third watch in the middle of the night. ”

The concept of the shape of the earth has become mainstream, and although there are still many people who insist that the sky is round and the earth is round, how many hydrogen spacecraft have flown into the sky have proved that the earth is undoubtedly round. However, the problem of jet lag has become a major problem for Qi scholars.

Theoretically, because of the joint mention of Han Gang and Su Song, the imperial court issued a document dividing the earth into twenty-four hour zones, and the Great Song Dynasty itself used the meridian of the central axis of Tokyo as the standard time, which is the so-called prime meridian. However, in fact, this prime meridian has not been accurately measured, and the existing instruments have not yet been able to achieve accurate positioning.